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1 `limitan' STATES PATENT trici-3.

GEORGE I). STEIN BACI-I, OF BALTIMORE, MARYLAND, ASSIGNOR TO HIMSELF, TRUSTEE FOR ALBERT .STEINBAOIL OF SAME PLACE.`

SHOO-FLY ROCKER.

SPEGIFICATIONorming part of Letters :Patent No. 295,457', dated March 18, 1884. Application mea June 11, less. (No modem To @ZZ whom, it may concern,.- l

Be it known that I, GEORGE l?. Swine/ion,

vented certain new and useful Improvements 5 in Shoo-Fly Rockers, of which the following is a specification, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, forming part hereof', in which- Figure l is a View in elevation of a device 1o embodying my invention, the seat, play-table,

and the wheels in their inactive position being shown in dotted lines. Fig. 2 is a front view, the table beingshown lowered in dotted lines and raised in full lines. Fig. 8 is a detail showing the inner side of the front end of one rocker, the wheel being in its lowered or active position. Fig. 4. is a plan view of the same. Fig. 5 is detail showing in front elevation the means for securing the table in 2o working position, and Fig. 6 is a plan view of the same. Like letters of reference indicate the same parts in all the figures. l

Rocking devices of the style shown are in common use, and are known technically as Shoo-flies. They consist, primarily, of two horses, sawed out of plank, set at a proper distance apart, and having attached to the feet of each a rocker. They are connected by suitable rounds, and bythe seat -board and its back board. 4

I am aware of the fact, also, that they have been provided with a table and with wheels; but the table as I have heretofore known it has been attached permanently to the sides, or has been pivoted therein at each side by a pin projecting from each end of the table and entering holes in the side horses, or is pivoted in the same manner by pins or screws en- 4o tering the ends ofthe table through the side horses. These constructions were objectionable, in that the attendant was required to lift the child over the sides or table in order to place it in the seat, and do the same to get The wheels Whichwere attached were singly mounted upon bars attached to the opposite ends of the rockers, and it was necessary, in changing from a rocker to a wagon, to i separately manipulate them, requiring four ad- `5o j ustments, and no means were provided to hold them in position when adjusted. It was consequently necessary to take the child out to adjust the device. residing at Baltimore city, Maryland, have inj It has been my aim to overcomeall these y difficulties; and to this end my invention consists in the construction, arrangement, andV combination of parts, which I shall now proceed to fully describe, and afterward specifically point out in the claims.

Referring to the drawings by letter, A A 6o Lare the side horses; B B', the rockers; C, the

seat; D, the back; E, the table, and F F the wheels. The seat and back C D are secured permanently to and between the horses, and serve to Vstay and stiften the structure. 'The 65 rockers are permanently secured to the feet of the-horses, and connected together by boards forming the door of the device, and acting as stays, as do the seat and back, as before mentioned. The table is of ordinary construction. 7o It is, however, pivot-ed at e to the horse A, and

at its opposite end is provided with a flat hook,

e', which enters a loop or staple, e2, secured to the horse A, as shown in Figs. V2, 5, and 6.' The wheels F are mounted at the front and thewheels F at the rear ofthe rockers in the following manner, viz: f f are flat strips or bars of metal secured to the rockers by pivotsf. Between these bars is mounted a rod or shaft, f2, upon which the wheels are j our- 8O naled. This permits the whole device, consisting of the two flat bars f, rod or shaft f2, and the two wheels, to be swung from the upper or inactive position shown in dotted lines in Fig. l to the lower or active position shown by full lines in the same gure. They are stopped in this last-named position by means of stops f3, secured to the rockers.

In using my device it is only necessary to raise the table, and the child can walk into 9o the seat, or can be lifted in, if too small to walk, when the simple act of bringing the table down causesthe hoop e to engage the loop e2, securi ing the table in position, and acting as a brace to the side horses, preventingthem from spreading apart and stiffening them.

As an additional stiffener or brace, I dovetail a strip, b, into each horse, passing from the top of the head through the neck and body to the breast. the round commonly used to connect the necks of the two horses,and renders it almost im- This obviates the necessity of ico possible to break off the heads-an accident to which they are somewhat liable when constructed as ordinarily, on account of the grain of the wood crossing the neck.

The rods on which the Wheels are placed are slightly longer than the distance between the rockers, so that it will be necessary to use a slight force to adjust the wheels, by reason of which construction sufficient friction is produced between the pivoted links f and the inside of the rockers to stay in any position to which they may be moved, thus rendering it unnecessary to hold one pair of wheels while adjusting the other pair.

Having thus described my invention,I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patentl. The combination, substantially as described, in a rocker of two parallel horses, having a seat and back between them and rockers attached to their feet, of the table E, pivoted to one horse at e, and having the hook e and the loop or staple e2 attached to the other horse, as set forth.

2. The combination, with a Shoo-fly rocker having, the usual seat, back, and rockers, as shown, of a table pivoted to the inside of one horse, and engaging, as shown, with the inside of the other horse, whereby the whole structure is braced and stiffened, and free access is provided to the seat, as set forth.

3. The combination, with a shoo-y rocker having the ordinary seat, back, androckers, and a pivoted table, as described, ofthe dovetailed stiffening-bars b, inserted in the position shown, and for the purposes set forth.

4. The combination, with a shoo-iiy rocker having the ordinary seat, back, and rockers, of two pairs of wheels, each pair mounted on a bar a little longer than the distance between the horses, and links pivoted to the inner side of the rockers, and on the bars which carry the wheels at points slightly outside the plane of the inner sides of the rockers, .one pair of wheels being mounted near the front end and one pair near the rear end of the rockers, for the purposes set forth.

5.' The combination, with the rockers C, of pivots f bars or links f, rods f2, and wheels F F', the distance on the rods f2 between the links f being slightly greater than the distance between the rockers, whereby friction is produced between the links f and the inside of the rockers, for the purposes set forth.

In testimony whereof I have signed this specification in presence of two witnesses.

GEORGE l). STEINBACH.

Witnesses:

SHIPLEY BRAsHEARs, JNO. T. MADDoX. 

